Hakodate
A historic port and one of Japan's great night views
Go because it pairs one of the most celebrated night views in Japan with the atmospheric, half-Western charm of an old treaty port.
Come for the view from Mount Hakodate, the city glittering on its narrow isthmus between two bays; for a morning market piled with Hokkaidō crab and sea urchin; for the sloping Motomachi district of churches and Western-era buildings; and for the star-shaped Goryōkaku fort. The gateway to Hokkaidō from the south, and a lovely place to linger.
Hakodate sits at the southern tip of Hokkaidō, on a slender neck of land between the sea on both sides — a geography that gives it its famous view and its breezy, maritime character. As one of the first Japanese ports opened to foreign trade in the 1850s, it grew up cosmopolitan, and it wears that history still, in hillside churches and clapboard consulates and a general air of somewhere shaped by the wider world. Add a superb seafood market and that glittering nighttime panorama, and Hakodate is one of the most likeable stops in the north.
A little background
Hakodate was among the very first Japanese ports forced open to foreigners when the country ended its long isolation in the 1850s, and Western traders, missionaries and diplomats settled on its slopes — leaving the churches, consulates and Western-style houses that still give the Motomachi district its distinctive look. Just outside the centre, the star-shaped Goryōkaku fort, built in Western style in the 1860s, was the site of the last stand of the shogun's forces in the civil war that ushered in modern Japan.
What to see
The Mount Hakodate night view. The city's signature: ride the ropeway up at dusk to see Hakodate blaze into light along its narrow waist of land between two dark bays — long rated one of the three great night views of Japan. Go at nightfall on a clear evening.
The morning market. Beside the station, a lively market of Hokkaidō seafood — crab, squid, salmon roe and sea urchin — where you can eat a fresh kaisendon rice bowl for breakfast.
Motomachi. The sloping historic quarter of churches, the old public hall and Western-era buildings, with sea views down every street.
Goryōkaku. The star-shaped fort, best appreciated from the adjacent tower — a moat of cherry blossom in spring, outlined in lights in winter.
How to get there
Hakodate is the southern gateway to Hokkaidō: the Hokkaidō Shinkansen reaches nearby Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto from Tokyo in about 4 hours, with a short onward train into the city, or you can fly. From Sapporo it's about 3.5–4 hours by limited-express train. In the city, a charming tram links the main sights.
When to go & practical notes
Pleasant late spring through autumn; late April/early May brings cherry blossom to Goryōkaku, a famous sight. Winter is cold and snowy but atmospheric, with the fort illuminated. For the night view, check the weather — it needs a clear evening — and go right at dusk for the best light. A day and a night covers the city comfortably; many combine it with the trip to or from Honshu.